With significant attention around the word being given to proposed
legislation in the Netherlands that would ban halal and kosher slaughter of
meat, India has taken steps to avoid a similar controversy. The Hindustan
Times yesterday reported that India's environment ministry has made changes
to the original draft of its proposed Animal Welfare Act 2011 to assure that
it will not ban slaughter of animals as carried out by Muslims (halal), Jews
(kosher), Hindus and Sikhs (jhatka) in accordance with their religious
traditions. The first draft provided that the cruelty provisions do not
apply to:

*the commission or omission of any act in the course of the
destruction orthe preparation for destruction of any animal as food for
mankind... accompanied by the infliction of unnecessary trauma, pain or
suffering.*

When Muslim groups criticized this draft of the bill, the
ministrycirculated a new draft which contains an explicit exemption
providing:

*Nothing contained in this Act shall render it an offence
to kill any animalin a manner required by the religion of any
community.*